Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $4.08 Million Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,871 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,076,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter worth about $764,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 55.5% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,448 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Equifax by 1.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 22,178 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,933,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at $10,887,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of EFX stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $261.56. 734,604 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,087,861. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $273.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.64. The company has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.